Luis Suarez has been banned for nine international matches and from all football for four months.

The Uruguay striker was found guilty of biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder during their World Cup Group D match on Wednesday morning (June 24, Singapore time).

After being charged by Fifa on Wednesday, an independent disciplinary committee has found Suarez guilty of misconduct against an opponent and offensive behaviour.

The Liverpool striker will now sit out Uruguay's next nine official games and has been banned from all football-related activity for four months.

He will be barred from entering any stadium during the four months and has also been fined 100,000 Swiss francs (S$139,728).

This is the third biting incident involving the 27-year-old, who bit PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal in 2010 during his time at Eredivisie side Ajax and Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic at Anfield last April.

“Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a Fifa World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field," said Mr Claudio Sulser, chairman of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee.